spankley

I'm getting the sqirmy rear end effect that's been described elsewhere on these forums (rear end squirms when you when coming off the gas and turning - even at quite modest speeds) so I've decided to get the wheel alignments checked. I've just changed from S02s to Eagle F1s given the general dampness up north (not to mention those damned satanic mills). I've only owned the S for a a couple of months so I can't remember if I got the same effect before I changed over to the F1s.

The S is going in for a dealer service 2morrow and I wondered whether I should get them to do the check or hang on and go to a specialist shop for it?

I guess the dealer will probably just take it to a specialist anyway, because of the specialist equipment needed.

Any guidance greatfully appreciated.

Cheers

GSi

Have you only just changed tyres?? They'll take a bit of scrubbing in before they get up to full grip. Might be worth putting a few more miles on before spending any more cash

Bassoctopus

What size F1s have you got? AFAIK they no longer make them in the correct size for MY2000 cars

blakpawn

Specialist, the dealer did mine and when checked only weeks later every wheel was wrong, although the net steering property summated to 0 drift.
Tis my view, others may disagree

Kelk

spankley, IIRC Honda recommends having the alignment done yearly and IMHO it's money well spent. I know the exact "squirmy-ness" you refer to and it can make the car feel unplanted.

All Honda stealerships will do is take the car to an a laser alignment centre and charge you a premium. You can take them to a specialist and save yourself quite a bit and their systems should have the alignment settings programmed into the machine.

Make sure you ask for the settings pre- and post-settings and if the Honda official ones aren't in the FAQ (I can't remember) I can email them to you as I have an MY00 as well.

s2uk

dotn let a dealer do wheel alignment, get a company that does it alot more to set it up with the upto date settings in the TEC FAQ.


makes a lot of difference.

spankley

Cheers for the replies...

205/55 ZR16s Front / 225/50 ZR16s rear - please don't me I've blown

GSi

Good News : 700 miles is plenty

Bad News: rears ought to be 245, but there are a few on here who like 225s...

Lurking Lawyer

You should really have gone for 245s in the rears - whilst the OEM S02 is 225, common wisdom is that you need a 245 in most other tyre patterns to get the same "footprint".

That said, it's not like 225s are "wrong" - just that you may find the back a bit more lively and easier to break away than with a slightly bigger fitting.

700 miles is plenty to have "scrubbed in" the new tyres, so that's not goign to be the cause.

Some dealers have laser geo equipment, but most don't. You'll be fine taking it to a specialist - but make sure you take the correct alignment info in with you, just in case - you can print it off from the Tech FAQ.

Bassoctopus

There are plenty of people who run 225 F1s without a problem, but I think that you have to be aware that the rear may have a bit less grip. If you like your oversteer then you may even prefer them

This may be contributing to your squirm, have you checked your tyre pressures?